US Dept of State meeting notes

Ok - not sure if this is good or bad news - but below are the meeting notes from a meeting today with the US DOS and ET govt - a delay of 1 year!  That's if you ALREADY have a child referred and court date - this could mean a few years for us - not sure what will happen.

But they confirmed that the staff was fired.  Hopefully with all the countries helping, they can come up with a solution to move things along! 

Please continue to pray for the kids, govt AND all the people affected by the earth quake and tsunami today.

Gail

ETHIOPIA UPDATE 3/11/11

Following are our notes from the Department of State Office of Children’s Issues conference call regarding Ethiopian adoptions conducted earlier today. These notes do not represent nor are they in any way attributable to the Department of State or US Citizenship and Immigration Services. We are providing the notes with respect to those who could not participate in the conference.

We extend our thanks to the Department of State for conducting the conference call and to US Citizenship and Immigration Services for their participation and contributions.

_______________________________________________________________

The Department of State is Actively Involved

The Ethiopian Ministry of Women’s, Children’s and Youth Affairs announced a reduction in the processing of intercountry adoption cases from 50 per day to 5 per day, effective March 10, 2011.

The Department of State is actively involved in discussions with the Government of Ethiopia, other governments and stakeholders.

A coalition of countries is preparing a proposal to assist the Ministry increase its capacity.

Embassy suggested that children with special need’s cases should not be delayed.

The US Embassy officials have a scheduled meeting with the Ministry of Women’s, Children’s and Youth Affairs for Monday, March 14, 2011.

There are areas of concern related to intercountry adoption, however the reduction is disproportionate.

Adoption Cases

Currently there are no implementation guidelines for in-process cases.

For adoption cases registered with the Ethiopian court, the best estimate is a one-year delay.

The staff change at the Ministry of Women’s, Children’s and Youth Affairs has been confirmed as taking effect the week of March 13, 2011. The impact this will have on adoption cases is not known.

It is estimated that between 800-1,000 adoption cases are currently on the docket of Ethiopian courts.

ANNOYED

Ok -
First I realize posting here is part of my therapy to get through all the craziness.  I know I have a lot to learn and MUST learn how to deal with the "nay" sayers and those that don't believe in trans-racial adoption.

so that said - I posted the link on Facebook last night to sign the petition to help the kids in Ethiopia. Many of my friends signed it, and then shared the post to get more!  Awesome right.  so I see someone's post - to Help the kids in the USA first.  I'm still sick and NOT feeling well - so I just jumped on that.  Yeah we tried - it didn't work out.  Probably didn't help that God put ET on my heart I can't help that.  But really - the US system is messed up - how many stories have I alone seen lately of adoptive parents MURDERING their kids.  A story yesterday about how some parents never reported their adopted kids missing - last seen in 2001-2005!  Something crazy -  they haven't been seen in 10 years!  and NO ONE knew it!  Oh my gosh - where were the social workers.  We are getting examined left and right - why weren't these people?  Seriously.  Then the case in Florida and the woman here in Metro Detroit that killed or tried to kill their adopted kids (the lady here killed herself in the process of taking them all out - she didn't succeed with the kids - thank God).

so really - I had to post that this guy not judge people until they know the story AND that we should help ALL of God's kids - here and there.  Yes -  maybe when I have some free time I can fight for the kids here.  I don't think this guy is taking any steps to help any of the kids - but can judge someone else -

so yeah - I need to find a way to educate.  Hopefully I'll get some books I asked for as a birthday present this week - and I'll begin reading them.

But for now - I can post here - not really quietly - but I know this idiot won't even try to look or learn our story -and that is fine.

Hoping for some more news on ET and MOWA today - last I heard the rumors the head of MOWA may have been fired over all the antics of late - now I don't want anyone to loose their job - I hope the person was trying to send a message they need staff and funding but I also hope this means they go back to more letters or whatever per day.

Enjoy your Friday all - its my off day and I'm up early running around - gotta love it!  Getting my frustrations out here - and off to start my day.  Thanks for reading - and listening - sorry if you don't like it - but I know others deal with this as well.

God bless and lets continue to pray for the kids in ET but also ALL over the world and the people in Japan that are dealing with the major earth quake and everything else that brought today - pretty scary times.

Gail

Today's UPdate

below is the email communication from AAI today - I have to say they are awesome in all of this!  I know everyone is getting info from their agencies -and all pretty much about the same - but I really liked this - even though I've seen it on the groups - this communication is amazing. so a GREAT job to the AAI ET team - Sally,Laura and others
GAil

Dear Families~

Most, if not all of you, are aware of the recent events that have taken place in Ethiopia, regarding international adoption. We have been posting all confirmed information on the yahoo group website, but wanted to make sure every client was aware of what has taken place in the last 10 days, by sending this to your personal email accounts. Please see below for copies of the posts on yahoo. 

If you are not an active member of the yahoo group, we highly recommend that you do sign up and check your emails in order to have the most current information. I attached a copy of the instructions on how to sign up for yahoo, in case you need this.

Thank you,

~Sally, Laura, & Mary 

Posted March 1:

Dear Families~

Many of you may have heard about MOWA's recent announcement that they will only

be completing 5 letters of consent per day. (as compared to up to 40 per day

right now) There have been many pieces of information posted and shared online

such as:

-The reason for this is that MOWA is short staffed. What they are attempting to

do is get approval for hiring more staff.

-This will go into effect on March 7.

-This has already gone into effect.

-MOWA has not said when this will go into effect

-The adoption agencies are scheduling a meeting with MOWA to discuss this.

....the list could go on and on....The only thing that we are able to confirm at

this point is that MOWA did indeed say that they will only be writing 5 letters

of consent each day and that there are plans for adoption agencies and MOWA to

hold a meeting to discuss this. Please stay tuned for updates as we get them.

Thank you,

Sally, Mary, & Laura

Posted March 4:

 Re: [aai_ethiopia_adoption] Re: MOWA's announcement

Hi Sue & everyone else who is wondering about this~

I'm sorry for not being more specific. In order for the court process

to go through and have the adoption finalized, there are three things

that must take place. Birth parent testimony is approved, adoptive

parents testimony is approved, and MOWA submits letter of consent.

(they typically do not submit until the day of court) When these

three requirements are met, the adoption is finalized. So, to answer

your question, this is not something needed in order to have a

referral, to be assigned a court date, or for an embassy appointment.

This could greatly affect the time between referral and court

approval. We are still waiting for additional information as to

whether or not this will really happen and if so, when...

~Sally

On Mar 3, 2011, at 11:24 AM, Sue Dood wrote:

> Thanks for the information. At our "mom's meeting" Tuesday night we

> talked about this and none of us understood what part of the

> process this decision affects, are the letters of consent for the

> kids to be referred to AAI, or to be assigned a court date, or is

> it for an embassy date? Since none of us knew for sure, I'm

> guessing there may be others who are wondering what part of the

> process is affected?

> Thanks,

> Sue

Posted March 7 

 Re: MOWA's announcement

Families~

Many of you have read the VOA (Voice of America)article regarding MOWA's

announcement to significantly decrease the number of letters of consent they

will write each day. There are many rumors surfacing online and elsewhere

regarding this, however, we do not have any further confirmed information at

this time. When we do have factual information to we will be sure to share it

with all of you.

Thank you for your patience as we wait to see what, if anything, evolves from

this.

Sally, Laura, & Mary

Posted March 8:

Dear Families~

As you know, there have been so many rumors regarding MOWA's announcement of
reducing the number of letters of consent that they will write and submit to
court. If this does indeed go into effect, it will be devastating to the
children of Ethiopia. The Joint Council on International Children's Services
(JCICS) is asking all of us to step into our roles as advocates and to
participate in this cause.

Below is a link to a post from JCICS outlining what you can do:
blog<http://betheanswerforchildren.wordpress.com/2011/03/08/emergency-campaign-f\
or-ethiopia/

Please continue to pray about this as well,
~Sally, Laura, & Mary

Posted March 10:

Dear Families~
Many of may have heard and/or saw that the Department of State posted an alert
on their website yesterday regarding this announcement. They announced a few
days ago that they would be doing this, therefore, it was somewhat expected.

You may read it by using this link:
http://adoption.state.gov/news/ethiopia_alert.html
or read it below:
Government of Ethiopia Plans Major Slow-Down in Adoption Processing
March 9, 2011
Citing the need to work on quality and focus on more important strategic issues,
the Government of Ethiopia's Ministry of Women, Children, and Youth Affairs
(MOWCYA) will reduce to a maximum of five the number of adoption cases it
processes per day, effective March 10, 2011. Under Ethiopian adoption
procedures, MOWCYA approves every match between prospective adoptive parents and
an Ethiopian child before that case can be forwarded for a court hearing. The
U.S. Embassy is working with Ethiopian government officials and adoption
agencies to learn more about this change in procedures. We will continue to
share information as it becomes available.

Given MOWCYA's current caseload, the U.S. Embassy anticipates that this change
could result in an overall decline in case processing of some 90 percent. If
this change is implemented as proposed, we expect, that parents who have begun
the process of adopting from Ethiopia but have not yet been matched with a child
could experience significant delays. It is not clear if this change in
procedures would have any significant impact on cases in which MOWCYA has
already approved matches.

Prospective adoptive parents should remain in close contact with their adoption
service provider to obtain updates on individual cases.

The Embassy's Adoptions Unit can be reached at consadoptionaddis@state.gov.

Please continue to monitor http://adoption.state.gov/ for updated information as
it becomes available.

Other information we have learned in the last 24 hours:
-They did officially start the "5 letters per day" process today.
-There was a meeting scheduled between the network of adoption agencies'
committee and MOWA today to discuss this further. Unfortunately, the meeting did
not take place. It is expected to take place sometime between now and Monday.
-There is an unconfirmed report that the head of the adoption department at MOWA
was let go. We are unsure if the new head will change this new "5 letters per
day" process or not.
-JCICS (Joint Council on International Children's Services) sent an email to
agencies yesterday afternoon. An excerpt from the email said "In only 24-hours,
over 11,000 concerned indiviudals have joined our Emergency Campaign for
Ethiopian Children by signing our petition. We extend our thanks to all of our
members who have supported this initiative by signing the petion and
distributing the campaign information.

Today, we have continued our communication with the Ethiopian Governmet and
respectfully brought the outpouring of concern to them. We believe that there
may have been postive developments and will provide further updates as
information is confirmed."

-NCFA (National Council For Adoption)- emailed a statement to agencies
yesterday:
NCFA Issues Statement Regarding Ethiopia Adoptions
At the end of February 2011, the Ethiopian Ministry of Women, Children and Youth
Affairs (MOWA) issued an unexpected directive indicating a dramatic reduction in
the number of intercountry adoption cases to be processed by the Ministry. This
directive is scheduled to go into effect by Wednesday, March 10, 2011.

In 2010, more than 2,500 Ethiopian children were adopted by American families.
Should MOWA implement the recent directive as indicated, the number of adoptions
from Ethiopia could fall as much as 90%, although the full impact of MOWA's
decision is unknown and cannot be predicted at this time.

This ruling follows a year of significant progress in improving and increasing
transparency in the Ethiopian adoption process. Following several safeguards
enacted last year, NCFA's confidence in the Ethiopian adoption system has grown
significantly. Additional protective measures may still be necessary, however,
to increase global confidence in the process. MOWA's recent decision appears to
have surprised many Ethiopian government officials, as well as the Central
Adoption Authorities in the U.S., Italy, and Spain. Many within the adoption
community, including the U.S. Department of State (DOS) and the U.S. Citizenship
and Immigration Service (USCIS), members of Congress, child welfare officials in
many countries, and the National Council For Adoption (NCFA), have criticized
the MOWA directive as unfair, unnecessary, and harmful to children in Ethiopian
orphanages who await permanent families.

NCFA is grateful for the swift action taken by the U.S. Department of State, led
by Special Advisor Ambassador Susan Jacobs, to communicate with Ethiopian
adoption officials in an effort to reach a favorable resolution that will serve
the best interests of abandoned and orphaned children in Ethiopia.

"We are encouraged by the advocacy taking place behind the scenes and hopeful
that these collective efforts will bring clarity and an immediate adjustment to
this unjust and unnecessary ruling, which has the potential to negatively impact
so many vulnerable children," said NCFA president and CEO Chuck Johnson.

Unconfirmed reports indicate that personnel changes within MOWA have resulted
from the rogue handling of this decision, and because of this, NCFA is hopeful
that new leadership will offer opportunities for better communication and a
swift resolution to this looming crisis. NCFA respectfully calls on MOWA to
amend its recent harmful directive and ensure that subsequent reforms reflect a
comprehensive child welfare policy that retains the option of intercountry
adoption for Ethiopian orphans while ensuring policies and procedures that serve
the best interests of children.


As you can see, there is a lot taking place right now and, although, MOWA did
indeed start the "5 letters per day" today, it is uncertain whether or not this
will continue longer term. Please continue to watch for updates from us. Also,
if you have not already done so, please sign the petition (JCISC website) and
pass it on to everyone you know.

We understand how difficult it must be to take all this information in and
figure out what this means for you specifically. While there is a lot of
uncertainty right now, we will continue to keep you informed as we learn more
information.
~Sally, Mary, & Laura

Ethiopia Program Team

Adoption Associates, Inc.

good article about MOWA changes

I said I was going to stay away - but its so hard - this article is really good - and its GREAT to know that so many people, ET and US and other countries think the stuff taking effect this week are wrong and how the ET adoption process has improved greatly.

so on another note   - I"m finding my posts slightly helpful for my well being.  so thanks for following -

who knows - I'll probably post more - if not - its off to bed - my netty pot experience has given me an ear infection - so not fun!

gail

More prayers for little Gabe

Below is the post from Www.caringbridge.org about bravelittlegabe - our friends son that's to have brain surgery in a few weeks.  Please read the recent post - you can find him at the link above - they need prayers as well.
Thanks
Gail


I haven’t written because I still don’t know exactly what we’re doing. Literally an hour after sending my previous caringbridge I received a call from a world known Chiari specialist in Chicago. I’ve had some reservations about the surgery and sent him a quick e-mail asking some questions. He responded immediately and validated some of my concerns. He invited us to Chicago to get a true opinion from him in regards to whether or not we should move forward with surgery, his thoughts about the progression in the brain disease and to have his hematologist review Gabriel’s entire history to possibly have an idea of the unknown blood condition . So, this has thrown us through a whirlwind. Although the last possible thing we feel like doing is making this trip and arranging it… we both feel strongly that it must be done before the brain surgery.

The surgery is still scheduled for March 21st. We may have to move it back a week and maybe two. Over the last two weeks we have seen some progression in head and leg pain. We believe some of the nerves in his right leg have started to become damaged. We do not want this to worsen so we are 95% sure we will move forward with surgery unless the Chicago expert has a good enough reason not to recommend surgery. So, surgery is still on but the date and place are up in the air at this time. As soon as I get a Chicago date and a surgery date I will let you know.

Gabriel is having his #31 transfusion tomorrow. Pray that God covers him with peace and strength. Pray for a good ferritin (iron) level. Pray his nausea subsides (from medication) and the head and leg pain do not worsen. He will be starting his day at the clinic and then will be on the inpatient floor for the majority of the day.

Will keep you posted…

Rebekah

Please sign this petition - and pray on 3/9/11

Follow this link to sign a petition to help protect the adoptions in ET.  Also  - WEdnesday many are trying to set this day aside to pray and fast for the children in ET and their government to make the right choices.  Please join us in that.

Thanks
Gail and Craig

Not so strong -

Yeah - thanks for all the emails or comments.  I'm glad my posts are inspirational - it helps to know that.  but really all - I'm not the strong - but as Craig has been trying to teach more for almost 13 years  - Fake it till you make it!  I have no choice but to fake it at this time.

Our agency did send the link to the Voa posting or article today - they say there are lot of rumors out there and won't really be able to update us until they have the facts.  I really respect that and I know they said they were trying to get the truth a while ago.  so I have to believe that.  I just continue to pray that they don't shut this program down.  Not sure what we'd do then.

anyhow - to all the other families out there - we can just support each other - I know I'm getting that - lets just hope we all make it.

so I'll continue to fake  being a happy mommy for Nate tonight and read a bedtime story and go up stairs to our room and either fall asleep to HGTV or go cry like I really want.  doesn't really help I'm alrady down this week anyhow - turning a year older doesn't make me happier - just realize I still don't have my dream - 2 kids and that white picket fence!  I remember that was a topic Craig brought up when we first started talking - what I wanted out of life and by when - its not for a lack of trying  - all those fertility drugs were another route we tried.

so good night all - I"ll go pray

OH - a lot of peple are taking Wednesday to fast and pray for everything inEthiopia - please do that if you can!

gail

Forcing hope

Yep - just trying to FORCE HOPE into my mind and stay positive.  Friday I saw some posts on the yahoo groups - and man ok - some are so negative - I've changed my status on those.  Anyhow AAI warned us a week or so ago that some court dates may slow down.  There were some changes.  Well an article was published or something - I wish I had the strength and emotional state to go back and read or reference it - but honestly I can't. I'm trying not to get tears in my eyes and just can't do that right now.  Its too depressing.

Anyhow - MOWA or the courts in ET are slowing things down to 5 hearings a day.  I may be getting the details wrong - but they think this will reduce adoptions of children from ET by 90% - Wow- that's the hard part.  All these kids, homeless, orphans, living in places that can barely feed them.  NOT for trying, I believe most agencies do everything for the kids they can, they just don't have the finances or means - like many people there.

So it was hard.  Craig is awesome and helping me to stay focused.  Yesterday I attended our Bishop's day conference for church and it helped.  I prayed and continued more prayers in silent at church this morning.  Our agency, and luckily I saw more posts today from other agencies - they all feel that the court can do more, but MOWA is slowing things down.  NOT because they have to - yes they need to slow it down a little to really do more full inspections on the adoptions, but because they want to see if the gov't can give them more help.  If I remember correctly they only have a handful of employees.  I want to say under 10- more like 5-8 people.  I'm sure I'm wrong on these numbers - so no one quote me here - but I just remember that.  So I am clinging to this fact and glad that other agencies think this too.  A LOT are sending representatives there to have meetings with MOWA in the coming weeks.  These are the agencies that are good and ethical - they care about these children and want to help them.

So yeah - I'm clinging and forcing hope right now.  AT the Bishop's day, this church Hope UMC had a bookstore.  I bought my own little African Angel figurine - its so beautiful.  A bookmark with this beautiful angel overlooking an African Village.  I hope to scan this picture and share - I'm going to hold onto these.  I know God put us on this path or led us here - who knows.  But I have to believe our future kids all have a guardian angel overlooking them.

Anyone else out there - and I know my dear friends I"m meeting out there - you feel the same way.  We must continue to lean on each other and hold each other up.  hang in there.  I"m having a good moment right now - I may have a bad one tomorrow.  But we'll all get our kids home - we'll get our referrals and we'll meet as well!  You know who you are - We WILL meet with our 4 kids having a blast one day.  That is another hope to cling to.

Happy Sunday evening all -
God Bless - and remember lets keep hope and faith (that's all I can do right now)
Love
Gail

Place in "line" - I broke down and asked

So last night I was reading peoples responses to the blog and finding others out there and started to freak out as to "where are we on the waiting list".  I was thinking like 25-40 somewhere.  So I emailed the ET team at AAI - and I have to say - they are so nice and don't ever make me feel bad for asking what I feel are "stupid" questions.  So this email really perked me up today - we are #20 but the people before us all want different things . Granted 18 want a child 0-2 years old.  We are open to a 3 year old.  and many want girls or two kids.  So we COULD - move faster if something fits our needs - 1 child - 0-3 / either gender - if that happens.  At least I don't have to worry - we won't be in the 12 referrals that are coming.  I figured that - but its good to know -we aren't ready.


And as Craig reminded me - its all in God's hands -he has our child picked out and they may not be ready yet -it happens in the right time.  I know I've read amazing stories on many other blogs - yeah I'm a crazy follower of many blogs - and most are strangers.  But its nice to read their lives and learn things.


So I'm continuing to keep the faith.  Its  not easy - I"m not very patient at waiting.  Its also a time that gets me thinking about my mom and man how much it would help if she were only here to talk to!  she'd keep me grounded and remind me of all of this.  she'd make life so much easier -but she's not.  Oh well - lucky for me I have an amazing husband and wonderful friends.  Thanks Shannon for helping the last few weeks - its been great - wish we lived closer - but we'll meet.


And everyone else - you know who you are - Sarah and Jen - you hear me every day - Jill too!  So thanks.  And I love meeting more of you out there - comments are always welcome.  Always look me up on Facebook or email at gmbackus@hotmail.co.


So read the email below - I took it as VERY encouraging - and also excited I"m meeting and may be talking to some of the people higher up on the list - and they will share their stories and help me as time gets closer.


Enjoy the weekend I'm sure I'll possibly post - I go through spells.
God Bless
Gail


Good Morning Gail~

You are #20 on the list. Of the 19 families "ahead" of you there are several in that age range, however, 9 are specifically waiting for a female, and 1 is waiting for an older child. The other 9 are waiting for a variation such as 2 children, male and female, 0-2 years or 1 child, male or female, 0-2 years. Feel free to ask information like this any time.

Have a good weekend,

~Sally

thanks for the support

to all those great people that posted to my post last night - I really appreciate it.  I would love to hear more from you - please feel free to email me at gmbackus@hotmail.com.

I'm glad to know I"m not the only one that has issues with the negative comments - but still happy to hear others are following their hearts as well - be it ET, Ghana or Kazakhstan (I"m sure I spelt that wrong) - or any other country, state or even city!  God brings us to this place and he'll bring us all home with additions to our families.

I feel blessed to get to know you all
Gail

Yahoo group - some frustrations

So I"ll post it here - easier then some of the yahoo groups -but I guess that's why I tend to not read them as much.  I know a lot of people are reading this blog - and that's really cool - thanks. But I just saw an email chain how all these people are no longer adopting from ET due to ethical reasons. And that's fine - but I feel like if we don't switch we're being judged as "bad" - well I don't care.  God brought my heart here - and I just am not ready to change.  I honestly believe that the ET and US governments are doing all they can to do things ethically.  Yes - we will always have bad seeds out there with adoptions all over - heck even in the US>

Just read some news stories - here in Michigan a local mom killed her self - but with the intent of taking all 4of her adopted kids with her this weekend.  Drugging them up and trying to put them all in a van, running in a closed garage - she died of carbon monoxide poisoning - God bless the kids survived.  And that father in FL that murdered his adopted daughter and tried to kill her twin brother. Seriously - our system is not so ethical - its messed up in different ways - all in the words of "keeping families together" - or not really looking at it.  but I know the people in the systems are trying - the are short handed and funding is low.

So please - follow your hearts everyone - you can adopt domestically or from any country internationally - its up to you and your family - but there are issues everywhere. But honestly the kids are innocent bystanders - they are the ones that no matter what should have a loving home and family to take care of them.  No matter where they are at.  So to my friends adopting domestically - that's awesome - keep pressing forward and the same for all of us looking at ET or any other country - its what is best for us.

Now if only I felt strong enough to publish this in the yahoo groups - but I"m not. But maybe just one will see this blog out there.  So everyone can follow their hearts - we are sure doing that.
Gail

AAI ET Stats

Below is another email from AAI - a great one with the stats for this year.  I think we are the 1 family with the February dossier - cool!  So that means at a minimum we are #6 - but I KNOW There were other families last year as well - so I'm guessing we are in the double digits for waiting. 


But its worth the wait. 


Gail




Dear Families -

It was requested that we post stats once a month in order to keep you informed about the activity that is taking place in each phase of the adoption process in the Ethiopia Program. This is simple to do and we will begin posting this from here on out.

February, 2011
# of dossiers sent to Ethiopia - 1
# of referrals - 0 
# of adoptions finalized - 5 (3 families)
# of children brought home - 4 (3 families)

Here is January's too:

January, 2011
# of dossiers sent to Ethiopia - 5
# of referrals - 1
# of adoptions finalized - 3 (2 families)
# of children brought home - 4 (3 families)

Let's hope for some great numbers, especially in the referral part, in March!

~Sally, Laura, & Mary

MOWA Changes - making things slower - but probably for the best

Another post from our Agency - 




Dear Families~
Many of you may have heard about MOWA's recent announcement that they will only be completing 5 letters of consent per day. (as compared to up to 40 per day right now) There have been many pieces of information posted and shared online such as:
-The reason for this is that MOWA is short staffed. What they are attempting to do is get approval for hiring more staff.
-This will go into effect on March 7.
-This has already gone into effect.
-MOWA has not said when this will go into effect
-The adoption agencies are scheduling a meeting with MOWA to discuss this. 

....the list could go on and on....The only thing that we are able to confirm at this point is that MOWA did indeed say that they will only be writing 5 letters of consent each day and that there are plans for adoption agencies and MOWA to hold a meeting to discuss this. Please stay tuned for updates as we get them.

Thank you,

Sally, Mary, & Laura

PRAYERS needed for Gabriel

Prayers for Gabriel



Ok - I know LOTS Of you are around the world - please share this with a LOT of people - we need as many prayers as we can get.




 Anyhow - below is the last post from Gabriel's mom - they are really in need of much needed prayers for strength and continued faith.  With ALL of this and still having a new-born at home - I know they are all exhausted.  Please continue to keep them in your prayers, and the doctors so that they can do what they need to do - its only a few short weeks away for his brain surgery.


I'm also attaching another picture of Gabe - you may have already seen it - but this is him, his perfect spirit - he is such a sweet little boy and that beautiful hair that will be shaved off.  


thanks for the support and please forward this to any prayer groups, chains, friends - etc.  The family needs them all.  As like Rebekah - I just can't go to the thought about "what if this doesn't work" - I can't imagine this little boy dying just yet.  I know God's put him here on this earth to make sure we all have faith - but its something that's hard to think about.


Thanks
Gail


So, our meeting at Children’s Hospital of Detroit did not go over very well. I am certain the surgeon is capable but it was definitely not a match for us… I didn’t like one of his procedures during surgery (many, many ways to do it) and we were not impressed with his communication. I know he’s very well known in the brain tumor world but with Chiari… not so sure. There are only a handful of expert world known surgeons that specialize in Chiari Malformation. The condition is rare and very misunderstood in many aspects. I have had to take a crash course in neurology and specifically decompression brain surgery. To the contrary, the U of M surgeon was highly impressive. After two consults with each… we chose Dr. Maher at U of M.

Gabriel’s brain surgery is scheduled for March 21st starting at 7:30 a.m. at Mott’s Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor. We are currently working out the details.

I think every day is challenging for us… the anticipation of it all, fear of the unknown, constant second guessing if we’re doing the right thing and if we’ve picked the right doctor, envisioning the day, shaving his head, the pain he will endure, and the days to follow and so on… I think one of the hardest parts of it all is that this surgery may not work which could potentially require several more and possibly a spinal surgery. The doctor’s do not know if this surgery will shrink the syrinx in his spine. Sometimes it does… and sometimes it doesn’t. Even with the best possible scenario there is a very good chance this surgery will have to be repeated when he gets older and what is more overwhelming, is the fact that in a few more months we will be doing the same exact thing…Removing his spleen without knowing if it will help his blood condition and monthly transfusions. They call it a “blind splenectomy” we have no other alternative to this procedure at this time. He cannot continue to go on like this. The iron will eventually damage his liver and/or heart. I received this e-mail from the expert in Boston just the other day as I begged him for an alternative to a “blind spleen removal”;

“There is, unfortunately, no way to know if splenectomy would help. But, it seems clear that something has to be done, and among the options it is one of the least harmful. I would feel much more comfortable about removing it if it were large. The fact that it isn't makes me worry that it isn't responsible for most of the red cell destruction.”

Dr. Lux, Children’s Hospital of Boston

It may seem like I’m being a little negative and hopeless and maybe I am but this is reality. It is truly unbelievable when I think of what has transpired in the last 2 ½ years. When I think of his first year of life and there was nothing wrong with him to our knowledge… to this. He looked at his baby pictures today and I couldn’t help but think about that first year and how we didn’t know what was ahead… I would do it over and over for him though. There is something special about Gabriel… he’s no ordinary kid.

So, as we’re feeling overwhelmed with brain surgery, splenectomy, iron overload, toxic daily med’s and most important loosing Gabriel’s beautiful spirit… all we can do is take it one day at a time, make his life as normal as possible and beg God for wisdom, strength and to ultimately spare his life. I have an empty feeling in my stomach daily and I keep reminding myself that he’s okay… he’s here and nothing’s going to happen to him. But what if it does? I can’t go there and I just ask God to protect him. I remember being terrified at Spring Hill a couple years ago to jump off the plank and fly in the air on the zip cord. I just ran and did it without even thinking about it. The girls that were with me couldn’t believe I didn’t hesitate since I was afraid. That’s kinda how I’m feeling now… Running full force and jumping off the edge without even thinking. I don’t really have any other choice and when people ask me how I do it… that’s what I tell them. Maybe one day I’ll have a beautiful testimony, for now, I’m just surviving.

Another blood transfusion is around the corner. Thanks Alex for donating for Gabriel, one less risk for him! Thanks for reading, caring, praying and loving Gabe and our family. I appreciate your comments in his guestbook and everything else you do!
The Adler’s

Update from AAI regarding Referrals

Below is part of an email we received from the agency today - so referrals are coming!  I just don't know where we are on the waiting list.  I"m still too nervous to find out - I just am happy we are there.  I know it sounds weird - but I'm still just happy to get to this point.  I don't want to get disappointed if there are tons of families in the line.  So we'll just see.

Enjoy -
Gail

EMail from AAI
As for an update on the Ethiopia program, there have not been too
many changes/updates since last month to fill you in on, but once
again we wanted to keep in contact with you!

We have received word of about a dozen possible infant referrals
coming our way. The paper work is just taking a long time to receive
and we do not have the official documents to start referring
families, but hopefully these will quickly come into our hands.

There is a light at the end of this tunnel and we are excited to see
what this new month has in store for you and AAI.